Legal Industry News

Mandatory age audits 'may not tackle age discrimination'

Despite claims to the contrary made recently by one commentator, mandatory age audits may not help tackle age discrimination among employers.

This is according to Jonathan Cawthra, group HR director at Affinity Sutton housing association, who said that such regulations would "tell you precious little" about a firm's attitude towards age, Personnel Today reports.

He added that it is hard to see what purpose the audits would serve.

Mr Cawthra commented: "Stoking up the legal basis for avoiding discrimination is a poor substitute for promulgating the business case more powerfully."

Meanwhile, associate director of policy at the Work Foundation David Coates claimed that, while age audits were "not an unreasonable idea", they are not necessary because the UK's ageing workforce will force employers to address inequalities anyway.

Speaking to Personnel Today recently, Chris Ball, chief executive of The Age and Employment Network, said companies should be made to produce annual reports containing a breakdown of the age of their workers.